Chief
Hokolesqua
Cornstalk
"Keigh-tugh-qua, Wynepuechsika"
Shawnee
Born about in Pennsylvania
Son of Ionoco Paxinosa Okawela Shawnee
[uncertain]
and [mother unknown]
Brother of
Silverheels Shawnee
[spouse(s) unknown]
Died
at about age 57
in Fort Randolph, Point Pleasant, Virginia (Now West Virginia)
Profile managers:
Sarah Mason 
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Contents |
Biography
Cornstalk (Shawnee: Hokoleskwa or Hokolesqua) (ca. 1720 – November 10, 1777) was a prominent leader of the Shawnee nation just prior to the American Revolution (1775-1783).
His name, Hokoleskwa, translates loosely into "stalk of corn" in English, and is spelled Colesqua in some accounts. He was also known as Keigh-tugh-qua and Wynepuechsika.
Early Life
His birth year is a rough estimate based on his assumed age when he does appear on records. He was born most likely in the Shawnee territory in Pennsylvania and as a young man migrated west with his tribe into Ohio where they made their home along the Scioto River. [1]
Some believe that his father was named "Whitefish" based on a speech given by Hokolesqua at Fort Pitt 11 October 1775. He stated that in response to a request by Col. Stephen, "my father the whitefish and myself went through the towns and hunted up the horses...."[2] Another researcher points out that there was no punctuation used by the person who recorded the statement and therefore "my father the whitefish and myself" could actually refer to three different individuals.
- Whitefish assisted Lord Dunmore and Captain Lewis with the peace at Camp Charlotte Treaty on 18 Oct 1774.[3]
Biographer John Sugden, however, questions the validity of the document about Cornstalk's speech:
- "In a speech of 1775 Cornstalk seems to describe himself as the son of White Fish, but Matthew Arbuckle, who knew them both, implies otherwise in a letter of December 1776. Records of the Moravian missionaries, who knew Cornstalk well, indicate that he was the son or grandson of the noted headman Paxinosa, and there are circumstances that suggest that this was true. "
- "Cornstalk may have spent part of his youth on the Wyoming, near present-day Plymouth, Pennsylvania, where Paxinosa’s band was living from the late 1720s. Although some members of this village appear to have been Pekowi Shawnee, Cornstalk belonged to the Mekoche division, which supplied the tribal civil chief. Paxinosa was friendly to the British, enjoyed a good relationship with the Moravians, and did not aid the French when the Seven Years’ War began."[4],[5]
Hokolesqua had two documented siblings, a brother called Silver Heels, and a sister, Nonhelema, both of whom were Shawnee leaders. [4]
- Another work by Sugden suggests an additional sister Cawachile.[6]
Nothing is known about his early life. Although many accounts say that he made his entrance into history with a raid on settlements in Augusta County, Virginia in 1759, this story did not appear until many years after his death. [4]
His first documented appearance is in 1763, when he participated in Pontiac's Rebellion leading a large band of warriors from Ohio into the Virginia frontier. [7]
Death
In 1777 Hokolesqua went to Fort Randolph (at Point Pleasant), to learn the American's intentions toward the Shawnee. The commandant of the post made hostages of Hokolesqua and other Shawnee. When an American militiaman was killed by Indians about November 10, his angry companions murdered Hokolesqua, his son Elinipisco, and two other Shawnee. [4]
He is buried at Tu-Endie-Wei State Park, Point Pleasant, Mason County, West Virginia. [8]
Wives and Children
There is no reliable source for the name of a wife or wives.
Hokolesqua had at least two sons, Cutemwha (The Wolf) and Elinipsico who died with his father at Point Pleasant. [4] [6]
Wissecapoway, aka Captain Morgan, was a Shawnee held captive by Lord Dunmore during 1775 in Williamsburg, VA. He is also said to be a son of Cornstalk, the Shawnee Chief. [9] Dunmore later released him. Nothing more is known about him.
An unnamed daughter was mentioned in the pension application of a Henry Aleshite who stated he was at Point Pleasant when Cornstalk and a white man who was married to Cornstalk's daughter were murdered. Her name is not given, nor is the name of the 'white man.' [10]
Peter Cornstalk (Wynepeuchsika), a noted Shawnee chief, was apparently not Cornstalk's son, as is sometimes written.[11]
Research Notes
Don Greene's self-published Shawnee Heritage has concocted an extensive list of descendants, but without any sources or references, including:[12]
- Aracoma is a mythical NA woman who legend says was the daughter of Cornstalk. She is supposed to have married a British soldier.
- Keigh-taugh-quah Hokoleskwa Cornstalk, son of Wawwaythi Whitefish :Okowellos “Ionoco” Sunfish (1672-1740) and Bird (1682-1740). Greene included a long list of children to this person.
Children linked to from this profile not included above and for whom there is no source for being his child:
Family tradition has apparently long held that Parker Adkins, while married to his wife Mary, had at least two children by a daughter of Shawnee Chief Cornstalk, named Blue Sky. This legend was included in Ronnie Adkins , Adkins – Land of York to Beech Fork, 1990. And Chief Cornstalk's supposed family was further embellished in the largely recognized as fraudulent works by Don Greene, Shawnee Heritage, in the early 2000s.
- Sarah Burns Adkins analyzed the legend in "Parker Adkins & Blue Sky: Was Their Story Possible?," 2 June 2017. She concluded that the family legend was not supported by documentable or historical evidence. Her conclusions were further supported by subsequent DNA results of descendants of one of the supposed Shawnee children that revealed only European origins, no Native American.
Sources
- ↑ William Henry Foote, "Cornstalk, The Shawnee Chief," Southern Literary Messenger, Vol 16, Issue 9, pp. 533-540; digital transcription, New River Notes (http://www.newrivernotes.com/topical_books_1850_virginia_cornstalk_shawneechief.htm : accessed 31 January 2018; transcribed by Valerie F. Crook, 1998.
- ↑ Vine Deloria, Raymond J. DeMallie, Documents of the American Indian Diplomacy, Treaties, Agreements and Conventions 1775-1907. Vol 1, (University of Oklahoma Press: 1999), p 58.
- ↑ Email to Jillaine Smith from Rick Lear, 20 Jun 2023, citing references located at the Pickaway County Historical and Genealogical [Society], Camp Charlotte Records section. Reference Card refers to "Chapt 19, pp. 190, 356."
- ↑ 4.0 4.1 4.2 4.3 4.4 Sugden, John. Cornstalk, in American National Biography, Oxford University Press,1999; subscription required
- ↑ Email to Jillaine Smith from Rick Lear, 20 June 2023, citing "comment by John Jacob Schmick in the Moravian Archives, Box 144, F. 5, 704 a-d. , Bethlehem, Pennsylvania," which might also be from the Pickaway County Historical and Genealogical [Society].
- ↑ 6.0 6.1 John Sugden, Blue Jacket: Warrior of the Shawnees, 2000, p. 51. Seeking specific quote.
- ↑ David Bushnell, "Research in Virginia from Tidewater to the Alleghanies," in The American Anthropologist, (N.S. 10) 1908, pp. 535-36.
- ↑ Find a Grave, database and images (https://www.findagrave.com : accessed 16 February 2021), memorial page for Chief “Hokolewskwa” Cornstalk (1720–10 Nov 1777), Find a Grave Memorial no. 5782, citing Tu-Endie-Wei State Park, Point Pleasant, Mason County, West Virginia, USA ; Maintained by Find A Grave .
- ↑ Colin G. Calloway, The American Revolution in Indian Country, (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1995) 162.
- ↑ "Revolutionary War Pensions," Virginia, Henry Alshite, digital images, Fold3 (https://www.fold3.com : accessed 3 Feb 2018); transcript available here (PDF); see second page.
- ↑ Sugden, Blue Jacket: Warrior of the Shawnees, p. 283
- ↑ Don Greene, Shawnee Heritage, self-published. Use with great caution. See Shawnee Heritagr Fraud
See also:
- Cornstalk (Wikipedia)
- Peter Force's American Archives - Fourth Series, Volume 1 (Vol. 1 of 9) digitized at archive.org and google.com pp. 288, 874, 1226.
- Loskiel, George Henry. History of the mission of the United Brethren among the Indians in North America. London, 1794. Contemporaneous descriptions of Paxinosa. Cornstalk is only mentioned once, about 1776, but no family members named. (Part III, p. 113) Digitized at archive.org at missionaries
- Laura T. Keenan,"Cornstalk (d. 1777)," Dictionary of Virginia Biography, Library of Virginia (1998– ), published 2006 Cornstalk
- https://native-americans.com/shawnee-chief-cornstalk/
- FamilySearch Family Tree, MyHeritage (https://www.myheritage.com/research/record-40001-1199544786/keigh-taugh-quah-hokoleskwa-cornstalk-in-familysearch-family-tree)
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Images: 15
S > Shawnee > Hokolesqua Cornstalk Shawnee
Categories: Shawnee Heritage Fraud | Shawnee
EDITED TO ADD: The reference appears to be to this article: https://www.anb.org/display/10.1093/anb/9780198606697.001.0001/anb-9780198606697-e-2000217;jsessionid=A4D38082A3787837F096D51CFD6764A4
Does anyone have access to the American National Biography?
Many thanks.
edited by Jillaine Smith
"In a speech of 1775 Cornstalk seems to describe himself as the son of White Fish, but Matthew Arbuckle, who knew them both, implies otherwise in a letter of December 1776. Records of the Moravian missionaries, who knew Cornstalk well, indicate that he was the son or grandson of the noted headman Paxinosa, and there are circumstances that suggest that this was true. "
"Cornstalk may have spent part of his youth on the Wyoming, near present-day Plymouth, Pennsylvania, where Paxinosa’s band was living from the late 1720s. Although some members of this village appear to have been Pekowi Shawnee, Cornstalk belonged to the Mekoche division, which supplied the tribal civil chief. Paxinosa was friendly to the British, enjoyed a good relationship with the Moravians, and did not aid the French when the Seven Years’ War began."
Should we then attach him to Paxinosa, parentage uncertain? We don't seem to have a profile for Whitefish.
edited by Jillaine Smith
Understanding that these were times of immense conflict, I am at once compelled by what allyship may have existed and yet I do not wish to speculate beyond what limited research is available or within my means. Ultimately maybe this is as much may be learned or unconfirmed, but personally has led me to study on my own time more of the Shawnee tribe's history and important events during the 18th and 19th centuries such as the French and Indian War, Pontiacs Rebellion, and the War of 1812.
Current Town of Logan, West Virginia: When the town incorporated in 1853, it was renamed "Aracoma" after the Shawnee chief Cornstalk's daughter,[7] who had been killed by settlers in the area in 1780.[8] The city was renamed "Logan" in 1907 after the Mingo leader, Chief Logan.[6]
[7] Robert Y. Spence, "Logan County," West Virginia Encyclopedia, 2015.
edited by Richard (Jordan) J
https://www.wikitree.com/wiki/Cornstalk-12
There is no reliable evidence that Aracoma existed.
Source: Sweeny, Lenora Higginbotham, Amherst County, Virginia in the Revolution Including Extracts from the "Lost Order Book" 1773-1782 [Bowie, Maryland: Heritage Books, Inc., 2002], pg. 160-163, 165.
In 1774 Colonel John Harvie Jr. was named as a commissioner to the Shawnee tribe to negotiate a peace treaty after the Battle of Point Pleasant.
Colonel John Harvie Jr., signer of the Articles of Confederation and the Bill of Rights, and was a guardian of Thomas Jefferson. Colonel John Harvie Jr.'s son, Jacquelin Burwell Harvie married Mary Marshall, daughter of Chief Justice John Marshall.
George Mathews (August 30, 1739 – August 30, 1812) - Battle of Point Pleasant, October 4, 1774. George Mathews became the 20th and 24th Governor of Georgia.
edited by Richard (Jordan) J
Background and parentage:
--His year of birth is unknown. The estimate of 1720 is undocumented (Keenan, Dictionary of Virginia Biography, 2006, hereafter DVB).
--The identification of his father as White Fish in a colonial document is probably an error (Sugden, American National Biography, 1999, hereafter ANB).
--He was likely the son or grandson of Paxinosa, a noted Shawnee leader (ANB, DVB).
Siblings:
--Nonhelema, was a sister (ANB, DVB).
--Cawechile was another sister (Sugden, Blue Jacket: Warrior of the Shawnees, 2000, p. 51, hereafter BJ).
--Silver Heels was one of his brothers (ANB; DVB; BJ, p. 48)
--Nimwha was another brother (BJ, p. 51). Nimwha was an important Shawnee leader, see Sami Lakomäki, Gathering Together: The Shawnee People Through Diaspora and Nationhood, 2014.
Offspring:
--Cutemwha (also known as Piaseka and the Wolf) was a son (BJ, pp. 45, 339) Also known as Biaseka, he was an important Shawnee leader; see Lakomäki's Gathering Together.
--Allanawissica was another son, murdered at the same time as Cornstalk (ANB) Some older sources list Ellinipsco as the name of Cornstalk's son who was killed with him. These are spelling variations of the same name (DVB).
--Wissecapoway was a son held hostage in 1774 and later set free by Lord Dunmore (Colin G. Calloway, The American Revolution in Indian Country, 1995, p. 162). My guess is that Wissecapoway and Allanawissica are the same person, but confirmation is needed.
Probably unrelated: Peter Cornstalk (Wynepeuchsika), a noted Shawnee chief, was apparently not Cornstalk's son, as is sometimes written (Sugden, Blue Jacket: Warrior of the Shawnees, p. 283).
edited by Kevin Myers
edited by Pattie (Breed) Plummer-Everett
I just checked and did not find a wikitree profile for the purported father/grandfather Paxinosa.
I believe Shawnee naming conventions cast additional doubt on White Fish being Cornstalk's father. I suspect Cornstalk belonged to the Wolf clan, since his famous son was called "The Wolf," and clan membership was passed from father to son. It seems unlikely Cornstalk would be the son of someone with "Fish" as a nickname, since that was a different clan. It's a weak clue, but we don't have much evidence to go on.
A few minutes ago, I added the Wikipedia Source: *https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shawnee
My contribution and this source were immediately deleted.
Please consider re-adding this source to the profile.
Best! Richard J, Amherst Co., Virginia
edited by Richard (Jordan) J
1. Attakullakulla Cherokee-53, 2. Dragging Canoe Cherokee-84, 3. Selukuki Cherokee-171, 4. Nan-Ye-Hi (Cherokee) Ward-59, 5. Chaquelataque Taltsuska Tal-tsu'tsa Cherokee-42, 6. Nunna hi-dihi Cherokee-214, 7. Peggy (Cherokee) Pathkiller Cherokee-215, 8. Utselata (Cherokee) Thompson Cherokee-132, 9. Tistoe Cherokee-114, etc.
Best Regards, Richard J, Amherst Co., Virginia
edited by Richard (Jordan) J
Best! Richard J, Amherst Co. Virginia
edited by Richard (Jordan) J
Wikitree Free Space: "Notes for Cornstalk Shawnee-45" has been created.
However, at this moment, I can not find this Free Space Profile using the Search Engine:
"Click here to search all free-space profiles."
Note: This search does not find anything and results in nothing.
Cornstalk's Sister is Nonhelema the Grenadier Squaw Shawnee-35.
Cornstalk's Son is Cutemwha the Wolf Shawnee-60.
"Cornstalk's known surviving relatives included his sister Nonhelema, also known as the Grenadier Squaw, and a son named Cutemwha, or the Wolf. Cornstalk was buried near Fort Randolph. After builders accidentally unearthed his presumed grave in 1840, the remains were moved to the grounds of the Mason County courthouse, and in 1954 they were moved again to Tu-Endie-Wei State Park on the site of the Battle of Point Pleasant."
Sources Consulted: Influential early accounts include John Stuart, "Memoir of Indian Wars, and Other Occurrences; By the Late Colonel Stuart, of Greenbrier," ed. Charles A. Stuart, in Collections of the Virginia Historical and Philosophical Society 1 (1833): 37–66 (third quotation on 58), in Frederick Webb Hodge, ed., Handbook of American Indians North of Mexico, in Smithsonian Institution Bureau of American Ethnology Bulletin 30, pt. 1 (1907): 350 (with undocumented birth date of ca. 1720), and Lyman C. Draper, "Sketch of Cornstalk, 1759–1777," Ohio Archaeological and Historical Quarterly 21 (1912): 245–262; identified as 1764 hostage in Minutes of the Provincial Council of Pennsylvania, Pennsylvania Archives, 1st ser., 9 (1852): 229–232; Williamsburg Virginia Gazette (Pinkney), 13 Oct. 1774, supplement (first quotation); Virginia Historical Register, and Literary Advertiser 1 (1848): 30–33 (second quotation on 33); most of the essential documents relating to the 1770s and Cornstalk's death, many in Lyman C. Draper Papers, Wisconsin Historical Society, Madison, Wis., printed in Reuben Gold Thwaites and Louise Phelps Kellogg, eds., Documentary History of Dunmore's War, 1774 (1905), The Revolution on the Upper Ohio, 1775–1777 (1908), and Frontier Defense on the Upper Ohio, 1777–1778 (1912), and others in William J. Van Schreeven, Robert L. Scribner, and Brent Tarter, eds., Revolutionary Virginia, the Road to Independence: A Documentary Record (1973–1983), vols. 3–4, 7; Cornstalk's mark, 19 July 1775, on MS Treaty of Fort Dunmore, 44, George Chalmers Collection, New York Public Library; death date in Patrick Henry proclamation, 27 Mar. 1778, printed in Williamsburg Virginia Gazette (Purdie), 3 Apr. 1778; Rockbridge Co. Order Book (1778–1783), 8–9, 13, 17, 20.
edited by Richard (Jordan) J
deleted by Kathie (Parks) Forbes
Link to Draper: https://resources.ohiohistory.org/ohj/browse/displaypages.php?display[]=0021&display[]=245&display[]=262
In Draper Vol. 1, "Dunmore's War" is the following reference: 14 Grenadier Squaw's Town; but in the event of the failure of the treaty the Indians intended to make their final stand at Chillicothe (Westfall) — see ante, p. 292, note 7. There were several small towns in the Pickaway Plains : Grenadier Squaw's was on Scippo Creek, about half a mile above its junction with Congo Creek ; Cornstalk's, about a half mile farther north, beyond Scippo Creek. — Ed.
The note on p. 292 just mentions the locations of Shawnee towns. [1]
and in Vol. III, Frontier Defense of the Upper Ohio,Draper says "After this last-named date it was practically abandoned . — Ed . Note 57 The author of the information was an Indian woman known to the whites as the Grenadier Squaw , from her unusual height . Her tribal name was Non-hel-e-ma ; she had also been baptized Catherine ( hence was called Katy ) . She was a sister of Cornstalk and a woman of note having a village in the Pickaway Plains . See Dunmore's War , p . 301 [see above] . She was attached to the Americans , and frequently brought them valuable information . After the death of Cornstalk , she abandoned her people , and with forty - eight head of cattle and some horses and other property made her way to Fort Randolph and dwelt with the garrison , by whom she was frequently employed as an interpreter . Later she removed to the neighborhood of Pittsburgh , where in 1785 she petitioned the Indian commissioners for relief and for a grant of land on the Scioto , where her family had lived and her mother was buried . This petition was referred to Congress , but apparently was never acted upon . Draper MSS . , 3D39.-ED. [2]
edited by Kathie (Parks) Forbes
I created Shawnee-56 from the source included. I would like to retain this source because this source gives the names of the two warriors, Red Hawk and Petello, who were killed also. This is the only source I know of that gives the names of the other two warriors that were killed. Wikipedia does not name these other two warriors.
In the merge, please include the =Associated Profiles= that I have listed in Shawnee-57. I judge this source and this information to be historically important.
1. The following images are duplicates, with different titles:
Wneypuechsika Keightughquah Image 2
Keightughquah Cornstalk Image 1
Hokoleskwa Cornstalk Image 1
2. The following images are duplicates, with different titles:
Wneypuechsika Keightughquah Historical Plaque
Hokoleskwa Cornstalk Image 3
Richard J, Amherst Co., Virginia
edited by Richard (Jordan) J
Virginia Marriages, 1785-1940 ( Sarah A. Woodall marriage to Sami 'Oaks his father John Oaks) Name: Saml P. Oaks Birth Date: 1837 Birthplace: Buckingham Age: 29 Spouse's Name: Sarah A. Woodall Spouse's Birth Date: 1836 Spouse's Birthplace: Prince Edward Spouse's Age: 30 Event Date: 01 Mar 1866 Event Place: Prince Edwd, Virginia Father's Name: John Oaks Mother's Name: Catharine Oaks Spouse's Father's Name: John Woodall Spouse's Mother's Name: Mary Woodall Race: Marital Status: Single Spouse's Marital Status: Single Spouse's Previous Husband's Name: Indexing Project (Batch) Number: M00920-7 System Origin: Virginia-EASy GS Film number: 2048470 Reference ID: Pr. Edwd. Image 672 Citing this Record: Virginia Marriages, 1785-1940 Mary Woodall in entry for Saml P. Oaks and Sarah A. Woodall, 01 Mar 1866; citing Prince Edwd, Virginia, reference Pr. Edwd. Image 672; FHL microfilm 2,048,470. Link
Who would like to take on cleaning up this biography into a single, originally-written narrative, with appropriate subheaders (many of which already exist)?
https://archive.org/details/notesonsettlemen00doddrich/page/180